Prove It
Pastor Robert Madu|Social Dallas
Matthew 4:1-11
*The final temptation is on a mountain
*Satan is real. Spiritual warfare is real. Matthew Chapter 4 teaches us this.
We tend to either over estimate or underestimate the enemy.
How + When the Enemy Came Against Jesus
WHEN: The enemy came against Jesus right as He was about to step into His public ministry, He’s about to change the world.
HOW: “If” You are the Son of God…
If the enemy can shake your identity, he can shape your behavior. Identity drives behavior. The wrong identity will always produce the wrong activity.
We should seek Him to find out what He says we are. “I am who He says I am!”
The enemy came against Jesus at a time when He was weary- He had been fasting for 40 days.
Can you trust what I said in the wilderness? Can you hold on to who I said you are even when everything around you says otherwise?
The Spirit led Him to the wilderness- so what do you do when your Spirit-led to the wilderness? Oop.
He had to hold onto what He had been told, even when the enemy was loud in His ear.
Takeaways from the Text:
Temptation in itself is not sin. Temptation is an invitation to live a self-serving lifestyle that will ultimately lead to rebellion towards God.
Hebrews 4:14- He knows, He understands, yet He was still without sin
Three Types of Temptation:
The lust of the flesh [appetite]
The pride of life [applause]
The lust of the eyes [ambition]- The enemy tried to offer Jesus a shortcut to get to the things He was already promised.
Every miracle was always for someone else and revealing who He really was. His works were never for selfish reasons.
We are called to shape our life to come under God’s word, not to shape God’s word to come under our life.
I cannot try to satisfy legitimate hunger in illegitimate ways. I have to trust and seek The Source.
I don’t have to prove what has already been pronounced over me. We rest in His approval of us.